What Are the Main Things to Remember When Going SPS?

[knowcrap]

I always have a lot of questions...seems as the years go by the number of questions I have grows.

So, we have a 180G tank and we are moving towards a mainly SPS tank and I was curious what kind of general things should one keep in mind when going SPS?

To date we seem to be doing well (knock on wood), as noted in another thread we are able to maintain good numbers on our tank (Alk in low 8's, Nitrates > 10ppm (need a more accurate test kit), calcium between 380 and 400, Phosphates seem to be at 0, Ph between 8.2 and 8.4) but I want to know what I should plan for in the long term (was asking about Ca reators in chem. section...seems I'll need one at some point).

What about everything else? We are running MH, 2 x 400W (moving to Reeflux 12K but may want to go to 10K on those) and I have read that lower K ratings seem to help create more/faster growth. It seems that the various K ratings eventually are to suit ones taste but is there anything MH related that we should drive to? Are VHO's necessary? We have 4 x 110 Actinic today.

Flow is good in the tank, 2 x Dolphin 1200's and 2 x Dolphin 3xx's that come into the top and the bottom of the tank respectively. I thought about getting some MJ mods and placing them in the tank to add a more "complex" flow as I have heard that SPS prefer this complex flow. Is this something I should be developing?

Food...what about food. This is probably the most complex thing, or at least I am having a hard time completely comprehending this one (though yesterday's lesson from Tim at Barrier Reef made the most sense). Is target feeding necessary? As I understood it yesterday there are two concepts...first is making a solid food chain in the water column where you can add food supplements that create a solid cycle from the smallest to the largest "things" that your reef will feed on.

Second is the concept of "target" feeding...as I understand not necessarily squirting food directly onto the coral as much as picking out the right food size/type that the coral(s) will feed on when you feed. Couple these concepts with what seems to be about a million different choices for food and you can maybe understand why I would be so confused.

Any other subtleties I would be aware of? As I noted in my other thread I know this is a complex system where less is really more and the end-goal really is to create a perfect balance.

...just trying to do the right things right and learn from others mistakes and successes really...thanks in advance to all.

 

[returnofsid]

I'm not anywhere near as knowing as a lot of other on here but from what I've learned, you're on your way to a great start!! Your lighting sounds excellent, your flow is adequate as long as it's random. Your water levels look great except for the Nitrates. Still a lil' high IMO.

As for feeding, I really don't know much about this with SPS. I do believe that if you have fish, feeding your SPS isn't needed. From what I understand, feeding SPS isn't needed at all as long as you have adequate lighting.

 

[jezzeaepi]

"To date we seem to be doing well (knock on wood), as noted in another thread we are able to maintain good numbers on our tank (Alk in low 8's, Nitrates > 10ppm (need a more accurate test kit), calcium between 380 and 400, Phosphates seem to be at 0, Ph between 8.2 and 8.4) but I want to know what I should plan for in the long term (was asking about Ca reators in chem. section...seems I'll need one at some point).
"

First, you'll want Salifert test kits. You will need: Calciu/Alk/PH/MG/Amonia/Nitrate/Phosphate. Salifert are the most accurate, and with the amount of testing that needs to be done at first to insure the success of your SPS tank, youll want the best test kit. With most of the cheap test kits out there you might as well just be shooting darts to determine your values.
As far as parameters go, SPS do best under:
Calc:400-425
Alk:8-11 DKH
Mag:1200+
Amonia:0
Nitrates:less then 1ppm
Phosphates:less then .03

"What about everything else? We are running MH, 2 x 400W (moving to Reeflux 12K but may want to go to 10K on those) and I have read that lower K ratings seem to help create more/faster growth. It seems that the various K ratings eventually are to suit ones taste but is there anything MH related that we should drive to? Are VHO's necessary? We have 4 x 110 Actinic today.
"
10k will give more growth by putting out more light in the useable spectrum, while 12K+ will put out more blue light. The higher the K rating, the more blue it appears. In respects to the VHO's, people generally use them with 10k bulbs to add more "blue" without saccrificng growth. VHO's are also beneficial in creating a sunrise/sunset effect. T5s however are a better alternative to VHO's since they last longer, but since you already have the VHO I wouldnt bother replacing.

"Flow is good in the tank, 2 x Dolphin 1200's and 2 x Dolphin 3xx's that come into the top and the bottom of the tank respectively. I thought about getting some MJ mods and placing them in the tank to add a more "complex" flow as I have heard that SPS prefer this complex flow. Is this something I should be developing?"
How many GPH are those pumps rated at? I cant find them. SPS will grow under non dynamic flow, but you wont like the growth patterns as much =P If the flow isnt dynamic at all, your coral will grow pretty much only in the direction of the flow. Having random dynamic flow via wavetimers/rotating returns/certain power heads will create growth forms that are far more natural pleasing to the eye.


As far as the food goes, I wouldnt worry about that part yet. Maybe after you have everything set up, stabilized, and a few corals in, then you can start worrying about feeding. You will be having a hard enoguh time as it is getting your tanks nutrient levels down to 0, so theres no need to make it even harder by adding even more food. SPS dont require direct feeding, they should get enough nutrients from excess fish food and fish waste. LPS are a different story. You dont "need" to feed them if you have a decent fish load, but they will certainly do much better with target feedings twice a week.


"Any other subtleties I would be aware of? As I noted in my other thread I know this is a complex system where less is really more and the end-goal really is to create a perfect balance."

Yes, filtration is of extreme importance for SPS systems. Since you want to maintain as close to 0 for nitrate and phosphate, youll need a very effecient system capable of proccessing your tank waste. Skimmers are your first line of defense. You want a big one =P Second there is the reugium. The refugium accomplishes many things, one of which is uptake of nitrates and phosphates in the form of plant matter. They also have the byproduct of stabilizing PH, adding micro organisms to the water column to feed your fish and coral, and adding additional water volume.



Just remeber, take it slow.

Peace

 

[SueT]

I agree with everything said above.. Keeping sps corals can be a great joy but you have to have patience. You try to hurry these corals and they will not let you. Keeping your water parmas in balance is the first step in them having the ability to thrive in your system. Lighting sounds good and I would vote for the 10k. Reeflux will really make corals look great. Use the actinic for supplementing. After you have that going then I think you'd be ready for some of the easier sps to try. Say a montipora digitata, or one of the plating montipora. They are a nice coral and whether they are easy they still look great. They grow good for you and then you're all set to go.

I'd almost say you can't have too much flow in an sps tank, unless it's blowing right on a coral.

 

[knowcrap]

Maybe I forgot to mention that this tank is about 1 year old now and had been doing well so far (much growth on everything)...whoops.

We tried SPS a while back and had no luck (lost all the SPS) but that was at a time when we were less that diligent with monitoring the system, water changes, etc. Within the last 6 months we have been on top of everything and once we were comfortable with regular maintenance we got more SPS frags.

The latest batch has taken off and we see signs of growth everywhere...but with this comes more responsibility so I am trying to stay ahead of the game here.

To date we have 4 monitpora caps (red, purple, green and yellow) a green staghorn, purple encrusting montipora, a blue acro, an orange/peach color thing (I am thinking some king of staghorn thing), a green slime acro, a pink birdsnest, a purple and a pink millepora and this acro that is white with deep blue ringed tips. All are pretty small frags...the fun for us is watching them grow.

As far as test kits, I was using up what we had of old kits, already migrated to the Salifert Alk kit and actually just ordered a set of their other kits...not every different kit but most. The nitrates kit I have is in gradients of 10 and is definitely lower than 10 so that is why I noted it...getting a more accurate kit is going to help dial in I'm sure.

As far as the flow, the Dolphin 1200's are 1200GPH pumps and I estimated we are getting about 900GPH after pushing up a few feet and making a turn. The other two pumps are 385 GPH, I think, which adds another estimated 200GPH so we should be turning the tank over well enough.

The current though is not as complex as it could be so I will definitely be working on that next. We surely don't want to have our tank look like a row of trees somewhere in the midwest where they all lean in one direction.

I also just read in another thread about letting a coral acclimate to a spot, not just the tank, before one will start to see regular growth...this has also been noted as we still have not made the commitment of gluing everything down yet and I may wait until I have verified that each piece is doing well before making that final commitment.

I continue to try and educate myself but knowing that reading alone will not teach me the practical experience I will need...that is what all of you are for.

Thanks again.

 

[jezzeaepi]

I dont see any mention of phosphate testing. Definetly test that and let us know where your at. The fact that you have some nitrates though tells me you need more filtration if your tank has been set up that long. What are you using now?

I would look in to upgrading your flow. For comparson, I have 1400gph in my 38G and I consider it "adequate". You have 2400 gph in a 180G tank. Thats defintly no where near enough for sps. Minium, I would shoot for 5500GPH+. If it were my tank id shoot for the 8k range. 2400 is defintly no where near enough. Your corals will thank you, and you will see a lot more growth.

 

[returnofsid]

After reading about your flow, I think I'd edit my last post. You really are on the low end of the flow recommendations. In any reef system, you should be aiming for 10X-20X turnover. In a tank dedicated to SPS, you'll want to be at the higher end of that. There are others that are turning over their tanks much more than 20X. So in a 180, IMO, you need to be pushing 2700 GPH minimum (which would put you at a 15X turnover rate). 3500-4000 GPH would be much better.

 

[SueT]

My 120g sps tank, I have turnover about 50x. I still think I need/want more. I've read where some are rating their turnover at 100x. The more random flow is the best for sps corals. Seeing as you already have some frags growing giving them more flow will be interesting to see the response.

 

[spongebob lover]

i'm following this thread as i'm trying to learn more about sps hehe .

 

[Skimmy]

knowcrap,
what skimmer do you have on your 180??

as mentioned, your going to need a good/large one to keep up with sps quality water in that size system.
the difference between having an overpowered skimmer in a sps tank verses not, is coloration, and the amount of maintenance you are doing to keep the tank clean.

just imagine how violent the ocean is on the forereef and you have a good idea of flow that you want in your tank, hence the suggestions for 30x - 50x and above in waterflow. i would suggest that you consider using low watt tunze stream/nanostream powerheads as opposed to a closed loop, against a black background they blend in very well, and in the long run you will save lots of money on power, and the flow is vastly more appropriate for corals than small nozzel outlets of a closed loop.

 

[knowcrap]

Ouch, looks like I am going to need to increase that flow rate...maybe just a little!!!

I was looking at a non-closed loop option as I would need to do some major maintenance to the tank and sump and with the tank already established and healthy I just don't want to risk such a major operation (well...that and I am pretty lazy...ha ha).

I was thinking of going the MJ Mods route but there is no guarantee of reliability, life span, etc...just did a quick search of these Tunez "nanostream" jets and there are a lot of options...seems I should get at least a couple in the Tunze Turbelle Stream Pump 6xxx series...I could easily add ~10X of flow per pump...are there any recommendations? Maybe other manufacturers?

End of the day, $300 to $400 on pumps I can simply "drop into" the tank sounds like a reasonable solution to quickly update the flow in our tank.

As far as the skimmer, I can't remember the exact model we got but I do remember one of the earliest bits of advice was "you can't over skim" (of course all within reason) so when we moved from the 90 to the 180 we went big on the skimmer...I think it is a "Coralife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer" rated for up to a 220G tank.

Seems that we might get some slack for that but it was what we could afford at the time and is working well as far as I can tell.

Also, refugium is next...I forgot to mention that. I basically just need the lights and we're good to go...is it OK if the refugium is in a part of the sump though? Or does it need to be in a separate tank? I know this is going to help us get better control over that last bit of Nitrates...but I really think we're in the bottom of "less than 10" range (again, I will get a more accurate result with a better test kit).

Oh yea, and phosphates, test on semi-regular basis (about every third "test day" so far) and getting 0 each time.

I really have been trying to take all of the advice I get and doing some experimentation based on that advice and then simply monitor what we are doing to get and maintain consistent results. Compared to two years ago I think we are coming along well...but like I keep repeating, there is always more to learn (basically as I got older I realized that I indeed DON'T actually know everything and that there are people out there smarter than me...so PAY ATTNETION!)

 

[jezzeaepi]

I am sure Mark will chime in with his info on the skimmer, but the tunze streams are defintly a good choice. Lots of flow, very low power consumption, they run forever, and their CS can't be beat.

 

[returnofsid]

knowcrap, I'll respond to your PM here so others can chime in as well. You asked about the Seio 2600. I recently had one in my 75 gallon reef tank. I loved it!! Unfortunately, it was WAY too much flow for that tank. It also created a lil' much heat for that tank. If I'd have had a larger tank, or a smaller SEIO, I think it would be perfect. You can set them up 2 ways. Either "horizontally" which is similar to Tunze or "vertically." I think you get maximum flow horizontally, but less protection from things getting sucked into it. The only negative thing I can say about the 2600 is that it was a bit bulky looking in the tank. Although it was in a 75. In a 180, it'd get lost in the size and wouldn't be such an eyesore, if any at all. A couple 2600s in a 180 or even 3 with a controller would give you excellent flow. Especially considering the price!!

 

[knowcrap]

Well, we just bit the bullet and bought a pair of the M2600's so I'll def. update the thread after we get them in and running.

The worst part about buying new stuff for you tank over the internet/ebay...wiating for it to arrive. The second worst part? When the shipping company can't find your freaking house!!!

Again, thank to all so far...my girlfriend just got a nice macro lense so I'll try to get some pix up here soon.

 

[Skimmy]

yeah, unfortunately the ccs220 really isnt going to give you the water quality you need, your going to need to upgrade at your soonest conveinence for sps quality water.

you should look at a dual pump recirculating needle wheel skimmer like DAS:
http://stores.petorama.net/Detail.bok?no=74
these are "generic" deltec skimmers made with identical parts for 1/3rd the cost. probably the cheapest way to go. they use aquabee nw 2000/1 pumps and with 2 it injects 960lph of air and consumes 70watts

but this skimmer would be better:
http://www.reefgeek.com/product/Bubble_Master_200_Protein_Skimmer_by_ATI
this skimmer injects 1,100 lph of air and uses 24watts and skims better.

start saving now...

 

[64Ivy]

One often overlooked component (and I suspect because it's free) is stability. Once you have your parameters within the ranges acceptable for sustaining the life of your corals, one of the best things you can do is try to hold them there. This does NOT mean go lax on your husbandry, in fact the more you stay on top of your parameters, the 'easier' it will be to keep things stable. For example, as your corals grow, they will of course utilize more calcium. You will have to make up the difference and since the amount needed will be different this month than last, only keeping track of it can nip a potential parameter swing in the bud. And, by the way, many times, a change in any one parameter will eventually affect several of the others.

Now, having said all that, the one 'parameter' you DON'T want to become to stable is your water flow. Again, as your corals grow, their mass will change the patterns (and often the amount) of your water movement, even creating dead spots in places where their were none before. Fragging, adding more pumps, or simply moving around the pumps you already have as your tank matures are great ways to keep this from happening.

Sounds like you're off to a good start though. Keep it up.

 

[knowcrap]

Update

OK, it's been a while since I have updated this thread...as I have been working on some of the advice received so far.

First and foremost I have added 2 Seio M2600 pumps to the tank and am now in the 40X turnover range. What a difference that extra flow makes! Everything does seem to be happier, I see a lot of polyp extension and better yet growth progress. Not that we didn't have growth before but now, after a week I swear the "green slimer" is bigger every morning when I look at it, amongst others.

Flow is a real tricky one, or at least was something that I never picked up as needing to increase as we moved into SPS. Just funny that people always ask what size, what kind of lighting, water parameters, etc. but never when talking to people at the stores or when buying from said stores did anyone ask me about flow rate in our tank...to that end I owe a great deal of gratitude to RF...thanks folks.

We have also been working on getting our rock bed "taller" so we can get some corals better, or better yet, closer placement to the light. Thanks to Barrier Reef we got some pieces of branching rock...pretty nice stuff. I like that it offers lots of little places for frags to be glued to and lets us maintain the lower end of the tank for more sensitive corals and the few LPS and soft coral we have. We just found it to be a very economical solution...instead of buying pounds and pounds of the "regular stuff."

We also have moved to the Reeflux brand halide. I bought a pair of 12K's but I think we'd like the 10K's a little more as we supplement with VHO's...to that end the tank looks a little blue.

(If anyone is interested in buying a pair of single-ended Reeflux 400W 12K's that have been running 8hrs per day since March 20th please feel free to PM me... )

Though this we of course are keeping a close watch on parameters, doing those regular water changes, etc. and so far we are maintaining good stability there...though as I add I am watching Ca more carefully now.

Next up is probably the skimmer...hopefully that is the end of spendy little toys for a while...all those corals I could have been buying...ha ha ha .

(...if anyone is looking to sell/trade some frags that will have a nice and loving home, you can PM about that too...ha ha ha.)

Again, thanks to all that have given advice so far...it's nice to be able to enjoy and share a hobby where everything is not a closely guarded secret (try collecting records, ugh!).

My final words today...I am almost on my hands and knees here trying to get my GF to take some pictures for me to post...I'm a real dunder-head when it comes to the camera. That and I want to log the coral's/tank's progress over the coming months.

 

[Skimmy]

sounds like you are on your way to sps land for sure...
stop by barrier on the weekend sometime if you want some individual advice on which skimmer for your tank, i'll hook you up